[Congressional Bills 115th Congress]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office]
[S. 1050 Introduced in Senate (IS)]

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115th CONGRESS
  1st Session
                                S. 1050

   To award a Congressional Gold Medal, collectively, to the Chinese-
 American Veterans of World War II, in recognition of their dedicated 
                      service during World War II.


_______________________________________________________________________


                   IN THE SENATE OF THE UNITED STATES

                              May 4, 2017

 Ms. Duckworth (for herself and Mr. Cochran) introduced the following 
 bill; which was read twice and referred to the Committee on Banking, 
                       Housing, and Urban Affairs

_______________________________________________________________________

                                 A BILL


 
   To award a Congressional Gold Medal, collectively, to the Chinese-
 American Veterans of World War II, in recognition of their dedicated 
                      service during World War II.

    Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representatives of the 
United States of America in Congress assembled,

SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE.

    This Act may be cited as the ``Chinese-American World War II 
Veteran Congressional Gold Medal Act''.

SEC. 2. FINDINGS.

    Congress finds that--
            (1) Chinese Americans served the United States in every 
        conflict since the Civil War, and distinguished themselves in 
        World War II, serving in every theater of battle and every 
        branch of service, earning citations for their heroism and 
        honorable service, including the Congressional Medal of Honor;
            (2) Chinese nationals and Chinese Americans faced 
        institutional discrimination in the United States since before 
        World War II, limiting the size of their population and their 
        ability to build thriving communities in the United States;
            (3) the Act of May 5, 1892 (27 Stat. 25, chapter 60) 
        (commonly known as the ``Geary Act'' or the ``Chinese Exclusion 
        Act''), was the first Federal law that broadly restricted 
        immigration and a specific nationality, making it illegal for 
        Chinese laborers to immigrate to the United States and limiting 
        the Chinese population in the United States for over 60 years;
            (4) major court decisions such as the decisions in Lum v. 
        Rice, 275 U.S. 78 (1927), and People v. Hall, 4 Cal. 399 
        (1854), found ``yellow'' races to be equal to African Americans 
        with regard to ``separate but equal'' school facilities, and 
        prohibited Chinese Americans, along with ``Black, mulatto, or 
        Indian'' persons, from testifying against White men;
            (5) Chinese Americans were harassed, beaten, and murdered 
        because of their ethnicity, including the Chinese Massacre of 
        1871, where 17 Chinese immigrants in Los Angeles, California, 
        were tortured and murdered, the Rock Spring Massacre of 1885 
        where White rioters killed 28 Chinese miners and burned 75 of 
        their homes in Rock Springs, Wyoming, and the Hells Canyon 
        Massacre of 1887 where 34 Chinese gold miners were ambushed and 
        murdered in Hells Canyon, Oregon;
            (6) there were only 78,000 Chinese Americans living on the 
        United States mainland, with 29,000 living in Hawaii, at the 
        start of World War II as result of Federal and State 
        legislation and judicial decisions;
            (7) despite the anti-Chinese discrimination at the time, as 
        many as 20,000 Chinese Americans served in the Armed Forces 
        during World War II, of whom, approximately 40 percent were not 
        United States citizens due to the laws that denied citizenship 
        to persons of Chinese descent;
            (8) Chinese Americans, although small in numbers, made 
        important contributions to the World War II effort;
            (9) of the total Chinese Americans serving, approximately 
        25 percent served in the United States Army Air Force, with 
        some sent to the China-Burma-India Theater with the 14th Air 
        Service Group;
            (10) the remainder of Chinese Americans who served in World 
        War II served in all branches of the Armed Forces in all 4 
        theaters of war;
            (11) the first all Chinese-American group was the 14th Air 
        Service Group, 859th Signal Corps in the China-Burma-India 
        Theater which enabled extensive and effective operations 
        against the Japanese military in China;
            (12) Chinese Americans are widely acknowledged for their 
        role in the 14th Air Force, 23rd Fighter Group, widely known as 
        the Flying Tigers;
            (13) the Flying Tigers eventually established United States 
        air superiority in China and supported cargo flights from India 
        to China over ``The Hump'';
            (14) Chinese Americans assigned to the China-Burma-India 
        Theater made transoceanic journeys through hostile territories 
        and were subject to enemy attack while at sea and in the air;
            (15) in the Pacific Theater, Chinese Americans were in 
        ground, air, and ocean combat and support roles throughout the 
        Pacific including New Guinea, Guadalcanal, Solomon Islands, Iwo 
        Jima, Okinawa, Philippines, Mariana Islands, and Aleutian 
        Islands;
            (16) throughout the Pacific and China-Burma-India theaters, 
        Chinese Americans performed vital functions in translating, 
        coordinating National Chinese and United States combat 
        operations, servicing and repairing aircraft and armaments, 
        training National Chinese troops and sailors, delivering 
        medical care, providing signal and communication support, 
        gathering and analyzing intelligence, participating in ground 
        and air combat, and securing and delivering supplies;
            (17) Chinese Americans also served in combat and support 
        roles in the European and African theaters, serving in North 
        Africa, Sicily, Italy, the Normandy D-Day invasion, which 
        liberated Western Europe, and the Battle of the Bulge, 
        occupying Western Germany while helping to liberate Central 
        Europe;
            (18) Chinese Americans flew bomber missions, served in 
        infantry units and combat ships in the Battle of the Atlantic, 
        including aboard Merchant Marines convoys vulnerable to 
        submarine and air attacks;
            (19) Chinese-American women left traditional domestic 
        duties for patriotic service, serving as translators who 
        interpreted Japanese documents containing military plans;
            (20) many Chinese-American women served in the Women's Army 
        Corps, the Army Air Forces, and the United States Naval Reserve 
        Women's Reserve, and some became pilots, air traffic 
        controllers, flight trainers, weather forecasters, occupational 
        therapists, and nurses;
            (21) Captain Francis B. Wai is the only Chinese American 
        who served in World War II to have been awarded a Congressional 
        Medal of Honor, the highest military award given by the United 
        States
            (22) Captain Wai was posthumously awarded the Distinguished 
        Service Medal in 1944, which was upgraded in 2000 to a 
        Congressional Medal of Honor;
            (23) Chinese Americans also earned Combat Infantry Badges, 
        Purple Hearts, Bronze Stars, Silver Stars, Distinguished 
        Service Medals, and Distinguished Flying Medals;
            (24) units of the Armed Forces with Chinese Americans were 
        also awarded unit citations for valor and bravery;
            (25) the United States remains forever indebted to the 
        bravery, valor, and dedication that the Chinese-American 
        Veterans of World War II displayed; and
            (26) the commitment and sacrifice of Chinese Americans 
        demonstrates a highly uncommon and commendable sense of 
        patriotism and honor in the face of discrimination.

SEC. 3. DEFINITIONS.

    In this Act--
            (1) the term ``Chinese-American Veterans of World II'' 
        includes individuals of Chinese ancestry who served--
                    (A) honorably at any time during the period 
                December 7, 1941, and ending December 31, 1946; and
                    (B) in an active duty status under the command of 
                the Armed Forces; and
            (2) the term ``Secretary'' means the Secretary of the 
        Treasury.

SEC. 4. CONGRESSIONAL GOLD MEDAL.

    (a) Award Authorized.--The President Pro Tempore of the Senate and 
the Speaker of the House of Representatives shall make appropriate 
arrangements for the award, on behalf of Congress, of a single gold 
medal of appropriate design to the Chinese-American Veterans of World 
War II, in recognition of their dedicated service during World War II.
    (b) Design and Striking.--For the purposes of the award referred to 
in subsection (a), the Secretary shall strike the gold medal with 
suitable emblems, devices, and inscriptions to be determined by the 
Secretary.
    (c) Smithsonian Institute.--
            (1) In general.--Following the award of the gold medal in 
        honor of the Chinese-American Veterans of World War II, the 
        gold medal shall be given to the Smithsonian Institution, where 
        it shall be available for display as appropriate and made 
        available for research.
            (2) Sense of congress.--It is the sense of Congress that 
        the Smithsonian Institution should make the gold medal received 
        under paragraph (1) available for display elsewhere, 
        particularly at other locations associated with the Chinese-
        American Veterans of World II or with World War II.
    (d) Duplicate Medals.--Under regulations that the Secretary may 
promulgate, the Secretary may strike and sell duplicates in bronze of 
the gold medal struck under this Act, at a price sufficient to cover 
the cost of the medals, including labor, materials, dies, use of 
machinery, and overhead expenses.

SEC. 5. STATUS OF MEDAL.

    (a) National Medal.--The gold medal struck under this Act shall be 
a national medal for the purposes of chapter 51 of title 31, Unites 
States Code.
    (b) Numismatic Items.--For purpose of section 5134 of title 31, 
United States Code, all medals struck under this Act shall be 
considered to be numismatic items.
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